OBITUARY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY DIANE'S SISTER JOANN HALVORSON REMPLER, CLASS OF 1969:
Deceased Classmate: Diane Halvorson (Dilley)
Graduation Year: 1964
Date Of Birth: 07-08-1946
Date Deceased: 02-01-2023
Age at Death: 76
Classmate City: Raleigh
Classmate State: NC
Classmate Country: USA
Survived By: Husband: Gary Dilley Raleigh, NC Sisters Roberta O'Neal (Halvorson) Greenwood, IN Joann Rempler (Halvorson) Charlotte.NC Various nieces and nephews
Obituary for Diane Carol Halvorson Dilley Diane Carol Halvorson Dilley of Raleigh passed away peacefully under Hospice Care on February 1, 2023. She was 76. Diane was born on July 8, 1946, in Hobart, Indiana, to the late Nina and Don Halvorson.
After finishing Hobart High School, she completed her collegiate studies at the Indiana University (Bloomington) and graduated from the Indiana University School of Dentistry, receiving her DDS degree in 1970. She completed a residency in pediatric dentistry at IU School of Dentistry and Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, and was a faculty member there for one year. In 1973, the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at UNC-CH recruited Diane to a faculty position. She completed her Board Certification in 1981 and rose to the level of Associate Professor before retiring from full-time service in 2010. Following her 37-year tenure, she served as an attending UNC faculty member at the Durham County Health Department Dental Program from 2014-18.
Said one former resident and colleague: “Dr. Dilley will be remembered for her quick wit, contagious laugh, and willingness to give fashion advice to both men and women”. She served her department in a wide variety of administrative positions including as Director of both the DDS and Graduate Programs in Pediatric Dentistry and as the long-time Director of UNC Hospital Peds Dental Program. She was also a long-serving member of the UNC Craniofacial Team. She was Co-Director of the Pediatric Dental Sedation Program from its inception in 1985 until her retirement in 2010.
Well known for her Herculean contributions of professional service, on the national level she served the Constitution and By-Laws Committee of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry for seven years, three as Chair. Diane was a long-time Secretary-Treasurer of the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry for which she served also as Vice-President, President-Elect, and President. Closer to home, she served the Dental Foundation of North Carolina as a Board Trustee for seven years and as its first female President. Beyond academic and service contributions, Diane was a clinician’s clinician. She loved her patients and teaching in the clinical environment, where her talents shined most brightly. She relished time with her residents, who are now scattered over the US and in several countries in both academic and private practice settings.
In sum, she had a direct hand in training over 100 residents, an impact greatly magnified by the infants, children, adolescents, and those with special health care needs served by these former residents. In the words of one admiring resident, “Diane’s teaching casts a lasting effect on my daily practice and teaching. Because of her humor, quick wit, and uncompromising insistence on quality work, she was both endearing and revered. To this date, more than 30 years after I finished my residency, periodically I still imagine her observing me when I do an oral sedation or general anesthesia case. I think twice before I change from one bur to the next, making sure I’m being efficient. When I overhear a resident comment about my being intimidating, I think of Diane fondly and tell them they haven’t seen the real deal. She will continue to live through many of us in our practice and teaching.” As a Gourmet cook, she and spouse Gary enjoyed entertaining and carried on a tradition of entertaining graduating residents at their home with a “final supper.” She also liked good wine and once told a colleague his most important job as a first year resident was “to keep my wine glass full!” Diane, being one of the first accomplished female academicians in a specialty dominated almost exclusively by men in the 70s and 80s, was a beloved mentor and role model for young women dentists. In the words of one: “I often thought of my residency journey as a young female as doing everything in my power to achieve Diane Dilley Standards. I'm hoping I've made her proud!”
In 2008, to honor her legacy, the Carolina Pearls Study Club (a cadre of her former female residents) established the Diane C. Dilley Fellowship in Pediatric Dentistry in the Dental Foundation of North Carolina to support residents. As spoken by one female pediatric dentist upon hearing of her passing: “My eyes lose tears of sadness as I miss her and know she cannot be replaced. My eyes also leak tears of happiness because she has peace and knew her legacy continued through her long strand of pearls. May this great loss serve as a call-to-arms to all coasting on the coat tails of our greats to step-up and continue growing the seeds planted in us for not only pediatric dentistry, but continuation of sincerity and authenticity.”
Surviving is her husband of 53 years, Dr. Gary J. Dilley of Raleigh. Surviving sisters include Roberta ONeal (Duane) of Greenwood, IN, and Joann Rempler (Erhardt) of Huntersville, NC, and several nieces, nephews and their families. A Celebration of Life will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Diane C. Dilley Fellowship Fund at the Dental Foundation of North Carolina, UNC Adams School of Dentistry: Campus Box #7450, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599-7450.
The picture above was obtained from the 1964 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at:
https://archive.org/details/HOHS1964Images/.